Mars vs Earth
by ewilson
Summary: Martian Darcy and Earth Elizabeth captured by bad guys from Jupiter. Conflict and love sparked. Could our favourite couple overcome their differences and find love in the end? Short story of 4 parts. Completed
1. Chapter 1

_I hope P&P will be as popular in 100 years' time as now. This is my first P&P science fan fiction. Hope you enjoy it. There are 4 parts. Enid_**  
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**Mars vs. Earth – Part 1**

"Why would you want to visit Earth?" Fitzwilliam Darcy was puzzled by the plan of his friend Charles Bingley.

"I am investigating a new reproductive method, combining cloning with traditional fusion of sperm and egg."

"Can't you investigate it here?"

"As you know, female clones in Mars don't have eggs and wombs."

"I'm not suggesting that. We have females from Earth emigrated here."

"The hypothesis of my research is to extract the fusion from the womb of an Earth woman before it develops any problem and then clone it. The clone will go through gene optimization. We will improve it genetically with for example a telepathic ability. Then the traditional embryo and the clone will be replanted into the woman's womb for development or it can also be allowed to grow in a laboratory environment."

"You want to increase our population with such an experiment?"

"Yep! Most of those who are pure clones like yourself delay cloning to reproduce offspring. Because some don't even see the need or benefit of having an offspring. And for most of the Mars and Earth couples, because of their genetic makeup, they are lucky to even be able to produce one offspring. Thus, our population is decreasing rapidly. As a reproductive scientist, I am trying to find a way to increase the population. If every fusion of egg and sperm is cloned, then we have the possibility of doubling the population."

"Would Mars and Earth couples agree to such a procedure?"

"Many of them do want to and have tried unsuccessfully to produce offspring."

"I wonder if it would be easier to just create a law that would enforce pure clones to have offspring."

"You know that would cause political unrest. Pure clones who are similar to you having such superior thinking can't be forced to do any thing they don't want to do."

"I agree. So then what is the problem with the experiment so far?"

"I have experimented with some female Earth migrants. For some unknown reasons, the clones didn't grow in or attach to their wombs. They didn't grow in the laboratory environment either. As we only have married Earth females here, I have been wondering if the experiment may succeed with unmarried Earth females."

"I think that only shows the defects of the embryos of Mars and Earth couples. They normally cannot survive on their own nor can their clones either."

"At the moment, a Martian can only select certain Earth females to marry, like with a certain height, IQ or weight. If we relax the restrictions, we may be able to have more success in the reproduction of offspring among Mars and Earth couples."

"But that will pollute the gene pool in Mars!"

"Better pollute it than annihilate it."

"Mmm, I'm not 100 convinced. Also, can't you import an unmarried female from Earth?"

"That is against the commandments of Mars."

"But you are doing it for the purpose of scientific investigation."

"I've applied for an unmarried Earth woman but was refused. You can ask your Uncle Andrew to change the commandments. He is the High Commander here."

"He can't do that personally. Changes to commandments require complicated procedures. Why would you want me to go with you?"

"I suspect I am a deformed mixed clone. I never feel right to live alone. I never like to travel alone, work alone nor eat alone. I need company." Darcy saw Charles flash a grin.

"And you like pretty females, clone or Earth ones! I wonder why you haven't cloned for a dozen offspring already. But I'm a not a deformed mixed clone," Darcy replied, "I feel normal to do everything alone. So why would I want to go with you?"

"Because I am your friend and I am asking you nicely."

"Those aren't logical reasons. Request denied."

"Ok, well then because you're an environmentalist. You can study the environmental changes in Earth. Maybe the issues there will give you some inspirations to solve future problems in Mars."

"This is a better reason. Request accepted."

A few weeks later, Bingley and Darcy set off to Earth in Bingley's luxurious space ship called Netherfield. He rented a parking dock in an Earth international delegation area, Meryton, for three months. He had 3-years of essential supplies from Mars in the space ship. He also brought along some Earth outerwear for himself and his partner Fitzwilliam Darcy. This ship was also a fully equipped laboratory for his experiments, too.

"Mr. Bingley, welcome to the reception area of the Meryton Delegation. This is my wife Fanny Bennet, my eldest daughter Jane and second eldest Elizabeth. Our three youngest daughters are somewhere around. Here are our neighbours, Miss Caroline Bingley and Miss Charlotte Lucas."

"How do you do, Miss Bingley? What a coincidence! We have the same surname."

"Exactly. Maybe we were related many decades ago."

"That could be true. My family's Earth history can be traced back to 1700. We only emigrated to Mars in 2087, not like my friend Darcy here, his family has been established in Mars since 2058. And he is a pure clone too." Darcy saw Charles pointing to him. Darcy was standing a few steps away from the group. He seldom felt normal in a big group especially among strangers.

"How exciting! I am honoured to make your acquaintance, Mr. Darcy. You are the first long-time Martian dweller I have met," Darcy couldn't help noticing Miss Bingley rushing to his side to give him an Earth greeting. He was touched on the mouth by her wet lips. He didn't like the smell of her breath so he moved a step backward, trying hard not to raise his hand to wipe his mouth. He then gave her a Martian greeting, touching her brow with his index finger, "How do you do, Miss Bingley?"

He heard a muffled sound from the far right hand side of the group. He turned and saw the dark haired second daughter of Mr. Bennet trying to stifle a laugh. _I wonder if she is laughing at Miss Bingley or me?_

"Miss Jane, would you like to go for a ride with me on my mini-Netherfield?" Darcy heard Bingley ask the tall blond, as he rolled his eyes thinking, _Bingley is truly deformed! He has cloning weakness for pretty females, no matter if they are from Mars or Earth._

"What is a mini-Netherfield?" Darcy heard Miss Elizabeth ask.

"It is a mini version of my space ship, suitable for two persons. After I take your sister for a ride, I will be happy to show you too, Miss Elizabeth."

Darcy walked near Bingley and whispered to him, "Come now , Bingley! She is only 158 cm in height, not tall enough according to Martian standard. Go for Miss Bingley. She is 179 cm."

Bingley turned to give him a hush. Apparently Darcy had said the words louder than he intended, because most of the people in the group heard him. He received a menacing glare from Elizabeth. Her family gasped while Caroline smiled smugly.

Bingley quickly diverted everyone's attention by asking Jane again. After he had gone off with Jane, Darcy heard Mrs. Bennet asked in a high-pitched voice, "Mr. Darcy, did you bring along your space ship too?"

"No, I came with Bingley on the Netherfield."

"Oh, so you don't have a mini to take my other daughters for a ride then."

"No." Darcy didn't bother to tell her that one of his assistants would soon bring his Pemberley ship later on to Earth.

"Mr. Darcy, please allow me to show you around Meryton Delegation," Darcy was surprised that he was being pulled away from the group by Miss Bingley.

"Mr. Darcy, I am really delighted to meet you today. As you said, I am quite tall. In fact, I'm the tallest woman in the whole of Meryton. I'm also the richest single woman here. I finished 16 years of scientific education and have been managing my brother's estate for nearly four years."

_Why would I want to know all that?_Darcy thought as he rolled his eyes but instead replied, "Thank you for the background information." He then followed Caroline around Meryton, giving brief curt responses to her endless chatter.

Most Martian females who wanted to clone with males liked to throw themselves at Darcy. He was known as a pure clone from a family long established on the planet owning a large estate, a high powered career and had excellent genetics. He was tall and his chest was broad. Female clones loved his money and were sure any offspring cloned with him would be superior in height, intelligence and other aspects. Occasionally, even some married Earth females tried their charms on him.

At 30, Darcy didn't like the fawning tactics of most females. He didn't see the need to undergo cloning for offspring, either by mixed cloning with a Martian female or solo cloning by himself. He particularly didn't see any benefit of having a traditional fusion with an Earth female. He had read enough to know that traditional fusion, which people on Earth called lovemaking, was a messy endeavour. The quality of offspring produced was unpredictable usually resulting with inferior offspring. Darcy had grown immune to the arts and allurements of Caroline's type of females. . He simply shut down at least 80 of his receptive communication system every time she opened her mouth.

Finally, she finished the tour then brought Darcy back to the group; but Bingley and Jane were still nowhere to be seen.

"Lizzy, you must be quick to take Mr. Darcy to the observatory deck! I'm sure Caroline hasn't shown him that area of Meryton, because she never wants the wind to mess up her hair," Mrs. Bennet said in a sly tone.

_On no! Not another tour! Where is the blasted Bingley? He must be enjoying himself with Jane. Can't Earth females leave me alone? I hate being fawned over especially by Earth females! _Darcy remained silence keeping his thoughts to himself. He was still embarrassed about commenting on Elizabeth's height in front of everyone. So he followed her to the observatory deck without saying a word.

This Earth woman was a contrast to Caroline. She didn't say a word to him. When they reached the far end of the deck, she just held onto the railing, gazed into the horizon seemingly lost in her own thoughts. That piqued Darcy's curiosity. _Why doesn't she 'sell' her virtues to me like other females do? Is she still angry with me? Or is she abnormal?_

_She doesn't appear to look abnormal. She must be still angry with me?_

"Miss Bennet…sorry… about the remark earlier … about your height," Darcy tried to maintain his normal ultra-cool manner. He rarely needed to apologize to anyone in his life so he was very uncomfortable about doing so now. But he was a fair person. He wanted to make amends after criticizing her in front of others.

"You spoke the truth, so why bother to apologize? I know I am not qualified to emigrate to Mars."

"Not unless as Bingley said the commandments are relaxed," Darcy was surprised that he would even entertain such a thought.

"My father told me Mr. Bingley was a reproduction scientist and you were an environmentalist. What do you think of our water problem here?"

_Another first, she's actually interested in the environment, not me!_Darcy was thinking about how different she acted, but before he could give her an answer, a series of explosions was heard then the floor of the deck shook.

"We are under attacked!" Elizabeth shouted as she held out her hand to pull pulled Darcy to run away. Before they could reach the gates into the Delegation area, another shot was heard and she cursed loudly.

"Were you shot?"

"Just grazed, not serious. Let's run."

Darcy saw that the underside of her right breast was shot but she didn't seem to be in too much pain. They continued to run towards the gate. But it didn't open automatically.

"Damn! It won't open when the Delegation area is under attack."

"We are too exposed."

"Let's go around to the back. There is an entrance tube to slide down to the survival area."

As they hurriedly ran around. Darcy asked, "How do we open it?"

He saw Elizabeth zip open the top of her tight yellow body suit. She pulled a cross out, breaking it from the necklace and plugged it into the matching hole on the ground. The ground moved. A circular piece of it moved aside to reveal a shaft. The downward drop was not very sharp but it seemed to be bottomless.

Sitting on the edge of the entrance tube they pushed themselves off and then began sliding down into what seemed like a bottomless black hole. Finally their fall was stopped at the bottom, which was padded with soft spongey material. Elizabeth pulled Darcy up to again run around a few dimly lighted corridors that were sectioned with more gates. At every gate, she would use the cross to open it. Finally they reached the survival area.

The survival area was like a small opened area apartment. It was painted bright white and equipped with furniture, supplies and everything needed for emergencies.

"Let's check the computer to see who is attacking us." Elizabeth sat down on a cushioned chair in front of the monitor screen .

"You are bleeding. Shouldn't you stop that first?" Darcy sat opposite her on a chair.

Darcy saw her looked at herself. There was blood staining her yellow body suit. She zipped down the tight top further, all the way down the waist. Then she pulled the top of the body suit from her shoulder and arm and exposed her right upper body.

Darcy's eyes widened. Nudity in both men and women was frown upon in Mars. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off her. Blood was sipping from the underside. It was not serious but it was not a small wound.

"Can you get me the first aid box over there on your left?"

Darcy was startled by her voice. He diverted his eyes from her body, followed her instruction, found the box and gave it to her. She put the box between her thighs, opened it and took out a clear bottle. She screwed it open, poured some liquid onto a piece of cloth and pressed it onto the wound with her left hand. She let out a grasp.

"Can you find a padding roll gauze for me?"

He found the gauze and handed the roll out to her.

"I couldn't wrap my hands around myself. You have to do that for me."

Darcy swallowed again and said, "But you have to push the other side of your body suit down too."

After wrapping two rounds around her body, he tied the gauze tightly. Before he pulled himself away from her, he made the mistake of looking up from the gauze to her. She was beautiful.

He let out a groan, unable to stop himself and wrapped one arm around her waist and lowered his mouth to kiss her.

"What are you doing?" He heard her yelled and pushed his shoulders away. Darcy was caught off guard and stumbled backward and sat on the floor.

"I thought pure male clones from Mars didn't have human urges! Are you a fake?"

Never in his life had Darcy been questioned about his purity. He stood up to his full height and said arrogantly, "You should study harder at school, Miss Bennet. Pure male clones from Mars are direct descendents of men who emigrated from Earth. The only difference is we have been improved throughout the decades in almost all aspects of our body and mind. We are far more intelligent. We have more strength. We are taller and handsomer. We didn't engage in messy love making in Mars because there was no need for it. It didn't mean we couldn't do it. In fact my male power may be too much for an Earth female like you. "

"What do you know about my woman power? Oh, I'm so afraid!"

"Are you saying you are one of those free Earth females, who sleep with any man on Earth and any passing traveler from Space?"

"I am no such female!"

"And yet, you bare your body to tempt me."

"Nudity is not frowned upon on Earth. I just need your help with the dressing, not your dirty hands on my body."

Darcy's temper flared another notch, "I am a pure Martian clone! If you use 'dirty' to describe me again, I will…"

"You will what? Put your dirty hands on my neck and strangle me?"

Darcy felt his chest explode. This Earth woman was infuriating. She was a mere Earth woman, not tall enough, not pretty enough and probably not intelligent enough and yet she piqued his curiosity and challenged him. He needed to do something.

"I will spank you like young children are punished on Earth."

"Your reading is outdated, silly Martian! That practice was outlawed decades ago."

Darcy finally exploded. He charged near her and picked her up by the waist. He heard her screamed. She pounded his chest with her tiny fists. He sat down on the sofa and flipped her to lie on her stomach on his laps. She tried to raise her upper body and struggled to get out of his laps. He used one hand to hold her upper body down and then spanked her butt.

She yelped. That startled him. Darcy had never used force in his life. His anger subsided immediately. He looked at the little woman on his laps. She had turned her face and glared at him. Eyes glittered with anger. Suddenly, a loud sound was heard through a computer.

"Elizabeth, are you ok down in the survival area? Are you with the Martian visitor Darcy?"

Darcy froze. Elizabeth took advantage of the situation and rolled from him onto the floor. She stood up and pulled the body suit from her thighs up to cover herself.

"Yes, dad! I'm fine. Mr. Darcy is with me. Who's attacking us?"

"Some bad guys from Jupiter, it seems."

"Is Jane ok? Is she still with Mr. Bingley?"

"They are fine. The mini docked at London Delegation area."

"When can we come up?"

"They are still bombarding us and several delegation areas. So you can't come up yet. Just enjoy yourself down there. I will let you know once it is safe. I got to go for an emergency meeting now."

"Enjoy ourselves?" Darcy whispered. He gazed intently at Elizabeth and saw a lovely red spread through her face.

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

**Mars vs. Earth – Part 2**

"Can you try to establish contact with your friend's mini?" Elizabeth's voice startled Darcy from his thoughts.

"You want to talk to Bingley?"

He saw her roll her eyes, "I want to check up on Jane. She has asthma. London's air is bad for her."

She sat down on the sofa and switched on the monitor of the computer that transmitted her father's voice not long ago.

"There is no need for that," Darcy walked to sit next to her. He pulled out a flat rectangular gadget from his left breast pocket. It was 5 cm long, around 1 cm in thickness and silver in colour. He put it next to her computer and pressed it. A big transparent monitor immediately appeared in front of them.

"Bingley, Darcy's here. Is everything OK with you and your mini?"

"Darcy! Where are you? Yes, the mini is fine. Jane is with me here. You know, the tall blond Miss Bennet."

Elizabeth moved closer to Darcy and spoke to the monitor, "Jane, Lizzy's here. Are you OK? Dad told me Mr. Bingley's mini docked in London."

"Hi, Lizzy. I'm fine. The mini was a shooting target for a few minutes but it had escaped without a scratch. Charles is a wonderful driver." Darcy saw Bingley flashed a boyish grin and thought, "They are on first name basis already. Bingley is a fast worker!"

"You better be careful when you go out to London. Do you have your inhaler with you?"

"Lizzy, I'm truly fine. I haven't had an asthma attack for over two years."

"But your last one was awful. I was so afraid for you. I couldn't sleep a wink for two days." Darcy listened to the conversations between the sisters. He was curious of Elizabeth's concerns for her sister and thought, "How does it feel to have someone fussing over me?"

"Oh, Jane, you have asthma? I have an air-purifying helmet here. Let me get that out for you," Bingley said.

"Yes, Mr. Bingley. You take care of my sister. Jane is very precious to me."

"Call me Charles, may I call you Lizzy?' Darcy saw Elizabeth give Bingley a nod and heard Bingley continued, "This air-purifying helmet is one of Darcy's inventions."

Darcy saw Bingley hold up the helmet. It was a hair band like gadget in black. Bingley fitted it onto Jane's head and said, "Here, what colour do you want?"

"It can change colour?" Jane asked.

"Yes," Bingley said, "My friend here is very meticulous. He knew females like to match everything."

"Jane is wearing a burgundy body suit, how about making the helmet red or pink?" Elizabeth said.

Bingley pressed a few buttons on the helmet and it turned red.

"Hey, it looks great on you, Jane! How does it purify the air?" Elizabeth turned to Darcy.

"Bingley would press another button and a soft transparent net will come of the hair band and protect Miss Jane from breathing in polluted air outside. Then Bingley can program the air inside the helmet to exactly like what you have in Meryton by filtering and reconstructing the composition of the outside air. I have environmental data from Earth and a few planets stored in there so he can program the air into different compositions he choose."

"Wow! You can fit an air reconstruction device into such a small gadget?"

"Oh, my friend Darcy is quite a genius," Bingley said.

_Yes, I'm not a silly Martian_, Darcy thought but just gave Elizabeth a nod.

"Thanks, Charles and Mr. Darcy. Lizzy, don't be such a mother hen. I sympathize your kids when you have them. You will be a smothering mother."

"Me, a smothering mother? No way! I will spank them if they do not obey my orders," The mentioning of spanking brought Darcy back to their previous hot encounter. She must be thinking about the same thing too because they heard Jane said.

"Lizzy, why are you so flustered? Is the temperature control in the survival area not working? And Mr. Darcy, you seem to be rather hot too."

"It's nothing, Jane. We just dropped down the valve and ran through several metres of corridors. Of course we are hot."

"Lizzy! You're shot! You're bleeding on the right abdomen."

"Calm down! I was only grazed by a bullet. Mr. Darcy had already helped me patch it up."

"Darcy, I didn't know you could do dressing too. You can be my assistant when I next operate."

Then Jane said, "Lizzy, just take care then. We will leave you now. I want to take Charles to visit Aunt Magdalene."

"Ditto. I'm hungry too, I'll do some mundane cooking while you and Charles party around London."

Darcy was sitting in the same position ever since Bingley and Miss Jane had gone offline. He was looking at Elizabeth. She seemed to ignore him all together. She turned on some classical music, humming with it when she was busy cooking at the other end of the survival area.

She didn't try to talk to him until she sat down on the dinning table, "Are you hungry? Do you want to join me?"

"I have Martian food with me."

"Martian food?"

Darcy moved to sit in front of her at the dinning table. He pulled a small metallic box out, 5 cm square, from his right breast pocket. He flipped the lid open and there were several blue pills there.

"You can survive on those?"

"One pill has enough nutrients for my body for a day."

"You eat a tiny pill and grow to so big. And I'm eating all these big dishes all the time and I'm so small. Life is so unfair!" She laughed.

Darcy saw four Earth dishes on the table and couldn't help himself from smiling at her comment too.

"Enjoy," she said and started eating.

Darcy popped a blue pill into his mouth and continued to gaze at her. She seemed to enjoy eating very much. After devouring the white entrée quickly, she slowed down her pace, cut the red meat into tiny morsels. When she put a small piece of meat into her mouth, the red juice stained her lips, making the lush lips redder. She seemed to have half closed her eyes and munched it for a few seconds with a dreamy expression on her face. Darcy found it fascinating to watch her finish the main course.

"Would you like some?" She held a cherry half way to her mouth when she seemed to notice for the first time Darcy was staring at her.

"Earth food may not be good for me,"

"Let's not argue again who is superior or what is better. You have a hungry look there. It is only a cherry. What harm can it do to you? I'm sure your superior body can handle it."

"OK," Darcy had his pride. His eyes sparkled as he accepted her challenge. Before he could put out his hand to take the cherry. She leaned over the table and put the cherry into his mouth. He sucked it into his mouth and accidentally licked her finger in the process.

They both widened their eyes at the contact. Elizabeth pulled out her finger quickly and said, "Remember to spit out the pit."

After the cherry, he ate some grapes and strawberry that Elizabeth had given him. She didn't seem to like the silence anymore and said, "You haven't replied to my question yet. What do you think of our water problem?"

"Earth has simply too many people. No matter what solutions you come up with, water is still scarce in relation to so many billions of people."

"We can't all emigrate to other planets. Only the rich and the special ones can do so. What can we do?"

"Stop reproducing is a responsible act to the Earth environment."

"But family is a very good social unit. My mother and younger sisters may try my patience but I still love them. Of course, I wouldn't trade my father and Jane for my place on Mars. I get intelligent conversations from Dad, caring and companionship from Jane."

"What is wrong with living alone and being independent like me?"

"I'm not saying it's wrong. It is just another way of living. I prefer my way. Like with cloning. It is another way of reproduction but I find it rather cold. I prefer the traditional way."

"What is so cold about cloning? It is scientific, reliable and produces consistent results."

"OK, you go to a clinic, select what gender you want for your offspring, what hair colour and bone structure you want, what improve you want. Then the doctor takes a cell from your body or from you and a female Martian, poke it around and voila, several months later, you have a small kid exactly like how you want it. It's like shopping for a custom made doll! You don't get to enjoy and experience the ups and downs of a pregnancy and you don't get to face the surprises of a 'not so perfect' baby."

"But to burden the environment just for the sake of your own enjoyment or experience is rather selfish."

"Hey, I'm not saying I'll produce dozen of babies just because I want to enjoy pregnancy. But the main point is if I want to have a child, I would do it the traditional way. At least, I won't have to explain to the kid about the spiritual issues."

"What spiritual issues?"

"We believe that each person has a soul. So if you clone an offspring, will the soul still remain inside the body of the parent or will it pass onto the offspring. Without the soul, is the person still a human being or is it just a medical invention?"

That was how the evening had gone on. Elizabeth and Darcy talked non-stop. Since she wasn't fawning on him but challenging his views about the environment and his existence, he didn't find her annoying. In fact he found her engaging. They had very different views in life but their differences were interesting to explore.

They had been talking for about two hours when Elizabeth yawned and said, "I'm beat. I'll sleep on the sofa, as it is too short for you. You can take the blanket and sleep on the floor."

Half an hour after they settled into their respective "bed", Darcy noticed something was wrong. His stomach had the most severe pain. He used his hands to massage the area but the pain didn't ease. He curled himself into a ball and let out a groan.

"What happened?"

"I have stomach ache. I told you Earth food might not be good for me."

Darcy felt Elizabeth crouched next to him. Her warm hand touched his forehead.

"You are cold and you are sweating. Do you have Martian medicine?"

"Yeah, how could I forget?" He put his hand to pull another box out of his pocket. But he seemed too weak to flip the lid open. Elizabeth took hold of it and flipped it open. There were several pink pills there. She asked, "How many pill do you need to take?"

"Just one."

Darcy felt her pushing the pill inside his lips.

"How long will the effect set in?"

"I don't know, maybe a few minutes. I hadn't been sick for years."

"Sorry, I shouldn't gloat you to try my cherry." Darcy heard her move away.

_Don't leave me,_ He thought.

She came back with a warm cloth and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and his face. She whispered sweet words to his ears and massaged his painful abdomen with her tiny hands.

"Do you trust me?" Darcy heard Elizabeth said. It had been more than an hour and the pain still hadn't subsided in his body despite the Martian medicine and her continuous ministrations.

"Whatever for?"

"Your Martian medicine isn't working. It may be because it can't cure food poisoning on Earth. I'm thinking may be I should try our method."

"What method?"

"Acupuncture."

"But that was ancient stuff. It was never scientifically proven even in Earth history."

"I have been studying and practicing it for some years since Jane has asthma. Most of the time it worked with her. Anyway, you aren't improving so why not give it a try."

"You may make me feel even worse."

"You said yourself that you were direct descendant from men on Earth. How about I do a quick scan of your body and show you its difference from the body of men on Earth. If the energy points are in the same areas as those of men here, that means you are not very much different from us. Then I will try a short course of acupuncture on you."

Darcy was too painful to argue. He saw Elizabeth take out a hand-held scanner and scan his body. Then she plugged the scanner onto the computer. After typing in a few things, a sketch of his body with several red dots appeared. She superimposed his sketch onto the one of a man from Earth.

"See, you have all 20 energy points and pathways. The only difference is your energy points are slightly larger. That means you have a stronger body and are more receptive to external stimuli."

Darcy nodded his head.

"I need to use laser needles on the energy points along your bowel pathway. So I have to take off your body suit."

Despite his weaken state Darcy couldn't help blushing.

"Don't be a sissy. I have seen plenty of bare-chested men."

Before he could say another word, Elizabeth had zipped open his body suit. She pushed it over his shoulders, baring his torso. She then pushed it low down his waist.

"The needles will release blockages in the energy points. This will allow any poisonous elements there to be diffused," her voice trembled as she explained.

"Why is your voice trembling? Have you done this before? Are you qualified?"

"Stop nagging! I'm a fully qualified acupuncturist." She turned her eyes from his body and concentrated on the needles and preparing.

Darcy could see that she was uncomfortable with the procedure or something else. Maybe she was hiding something from him. But then she stuck a laser needle on his stomach. It didn't hurt but it seemed to bring some air into his body. It was a strange feeling.

She continued to stick his body with needles, from stomach down to the bowel. Her hands were touching the muscle further down and he squirmed.

"Don't move!" she yelped, "Or else I may touch another energy point."

That got Darcy nervous and he flexed his muscles. The movement slid the needle off to the right.

"Damn! You've done it." Elizabeth swore and pulled the laser needle out quickly.

Darcy felt some air flow down his body, past his legs.

"What have I done?"

"You dislodged the laser needle and I have accidentally stuck your…,"

"My what?"

"Your libido energy point."

"What?"

"Calm down. You are not one of us. So it may not affect you."

"And what if it does? What does that mean?"

"That means… that means, you may get very attracted to women in the next couple of days and you may be able to … mmm, you know… go on and on for a few hours."

"What?" Darcy scowled.

"I didn't do it on purpose. You were the one who dislodged my needle. Anyway, it may not affect you because you are a Martian clone."

"Let's hope so, otherwise I will hold you responsible."

"How is the pain in the stomach anyway?"

"Strange, it seems to be less severe now. But I need to go to the toilet."

Elizabeth helped him stand. He moved weakly to the amenity area.

"There is no partition?"

"Sissy! I will not look. I will go and pack up the needles. Just call me after you finish."

Darcy dealt with his needs. After that, he felt much better. He didn't want to ask Elizabeth to help him so he pushed himself up and walked gingerly back to the bed on the floor. After lying down for a few minutes, he felt the pain in the stomach to have gone all together.

Elizabeth crouched by his side again. She leaned forward and touched her hand on his forehead, "It is not so cold now."

_She smells good! _Darcy thought. He raised his head and smelled her neck.

"What are you doing?" Elizabeth froze and looked straight into his eyes and asked.

Darcy smiled and said, "You smell very sweet. Can I taste you?"

"We have been through this before." She held her hand on his, stopping his action.

"We have been chatting for a few hours. You know all about my views in life. And you were so nice to me when I was sick. I'm sure you like me a tiny bit."

"I admit you are a genius in your career. You are in fact quite nice to your friends and fellow Martians and you are quite handsome. I do like you a tiny bit. But that doesn't mean you are not condescending. You look down your nose on Earth and Meryton."

"I'm just proud of myself and my heritage. OK, I'll learn to be more accommodating to different people in future."

"But you said I was not up to Martian standard. Why would you want me?"

"I now know our Martian commandments have some drawbacks. We put too much emphasis on external attributes of a person. You are intelligent, beautiful and most importantly, very caring. I want you."

"You are not afraid of having a consequence?"

"Should I be afraid?"

"No, I'm very careful. I have been on the pill since I turned 15."

"Why?"

"To control period pain."

"I have read a lot of Earth records. I have excellent memory and precise learning skills. Besides, my body has a special talent acquired through cloning. I think you will like me."

"What talent?"

"You'll just have to wait and see." He wrapped a hand around her waist and kissed her thoroughly on the mouth for a few minutes and said, "Besides, you owe me. You make me attracted to women with your needle. So it is pay back time."

"What!"

They were kissing each other eagerly when she jerked up suddenly.

"They are coming!"

"Who? Your dad?"

"No, can't you smell the gas? The bad guys from Jupiter! They want to flush us out with gas."

"What can we do?"

"Do you have your air purifying helmet?"

"No, they are all onboard Netherfield."

"Damn! Let me see if I can change the air composition here to counter act the ghastly gas."

Elizabeth moved towards the computer and punched in a few keys. But suddenly a loud hissing sound was heard and more awful gas in charcoal colour was flushed into the survival area. She stood up, tried to walk but swayed and fainted.

Darcy ran to her side and held her to his body before she hit the floor. A loud explosion was heard and the door of the survival area was blasted open. He saw among the smoke that there were five pint-size men with guns charging in. All of them had three eyes on the head and rainbow-coloured skin.

Darcy decided against taking them down at that moment as he was not 100 sure he could protect Elizabeth in the process. He pretended to faint onto the floor and covered her body in the process. He would be ready to pounce if they separated them or hurt her.

"Jupiter men have a strange way to tie up people," Darcy thought. Elizabeth and him were tied closely together on the upper body, chest to chest with a rubber like string. Their feet were free though. They were sitting on a bench inside the spacecraft of the bad guys. Elizabeth straddled on his laps.

There were other "couples" sitting on the bench area. To his left, a few space away, he could see Miss Bingley being tied up on the back of another man from Earth. Darcy couldn't see his face clearly as he was facing the other side. The man had another young girl tied chest to chest on his front. Further down on the left, there were a few other men and women tied up like Elizabeth and him.

Right in front of them, there was a big table that looked like an operation table. Behind the table, there were rows of benches. Darcy heard another hiss of gas pump into the room. He felt Elizabeth stir.

"What the hell?" She raised her head from his shoulder and asked, "Where are we?"

"We are captured by the bad guys. They have a strange way to tie up people."

Elizabeth turned her head and looked around and cried out, "Lydia, why are you tied up with George?"

Darcy turned. He could now see the face of the man with Miss Bingley tied on his back.

"Eliza, I miss you. How come you are strapped to Mr. Pure?" Wickham said.

"How did you know George Wickham?" Darcy asked Elizabeth in an angry whisper.

"George, you said you didn't like my sister at all. Why are you flirting with her now?"

"Miss Lydia is your sister?" Darcy said.

Their conversations were interrupted when the room brightened up and rows of pint-size rainbow-coloured Jupiter men came in. They settled themselves on the rows of benches opposite.

"OK, let's start the operation," one of the three-eyed creatures in a purple robe stepped forward with a clipboard on his tiny hand.

"First couple, Wickham and the two girls. Put them on the table."

"Hey, sir, what do you want to do with us?" Wickham asked.

"Fred Collins here. Since you asked so nicely, I will tell you the procedure. We are going to put you on that table. Then we will lower the glass partitions and break your string. You are then free to move. We want you to fuse with these two women. We will watch and record the proceedings. We will do that for two days and then we will check the women to see if they are pregnant. Then we will put the next couple in the glass chamber. We will run this procedure until all the women here are pregnant. Then we will harvest the embryos and return you safely to Earth."

"What? I don't want to get pregnant by him," Caroline has regained consciousness and yelped.

"Shut up, woman! You have no choice here."

"Mr. Collins, please. I'm the richest woman in Meryton. I can give you money. Just don't force me," Caroline pleaded.

"What's wrong with him? He seems quite handsome by Earth standard."

"But he is dirt poor. How about this? I give you 1 million pound and you let me swap with the short woman in the yellow body suit there. I don't mind having Mr. Darcy's babies."

Darcy shuddered and was about to say something when Wickham said, "Yes, Mr. Collins, that's a good idea."

"All of you shut up! My instruction is to tie the women and men up as we found them. Then the couples have to fuse together in the order we found them, no matter if they are young or old, human or alien. No argument and no change of partners. Fred 2 and Fred 3, put the Wickham and the two women on the table."

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

**[bMars vs. Earth - Part 3[/b**

"Smart Martian, you better get us out of here in time before we are put on display," Elizabeth said after a day in captivity.

"Be patient, " Darcy whispered to Elizabeth.

"Concentrate on finding the escape route, Martian!"

"I know, just another few minutes Pemberley will be near enough for me to beam us up. "

"Pemberley?"

"It is my spaceship."

"How come you didn't beam us up earlier?"

"I only have a small device implanted into the back of my ear. I can only do beaming when Pemberley is not too far away."

"How do you know it is near enough?"

"I have a mind-link with my assistant Mrs. Reynolds onboard. So I told her our location. She has been coming our way in full speed since our capture."

"Can you beam Lydia with us too?"

"Unless she is released and come within my reach. The implanted beaming device is only for emergency purpose for myself so it is not very powerful. I can't beam someone so far away from me. It is good that you are tied snugly to me. I don't want to lose you during the beaming."

"Maybe we should wait till tomorrow then. When they release Lydia, they may put her next to us. Then you can beam her together."

"You want to do that? Remember Collins said they would check the women for pregnancy. What if they took Lydia away for medical check but it was our turn to go inside the glass chamber."

"You can still beam us up then. I assume it works inside the glass chamber."

"It should."

"You've never tried it before?"

"Hey, I've never experienced so many adventures in my life before I met you. I've only used the normal beaming device at home or onboard Pemberley, not this implanted one."

"Damn! For all we know, the device can be out of commission!"

"Nah, when I go for quarterly medical check up, all the implants in my body are maintained too."

"You have many implants in your body? Is your six-pack fake?"

"All my implants are not for beauty sake. They have special functions."

"Women on Earth say that too when they do plastic surgery! The function is to make men drool over them."

"I didn't drool over Miss Bingley's body. She is nothing compared to you."

"Thanks for the compliment. She is one arrogant lady in Meryton, the tallest and the richest. In fact she seems to match you well. She always looks down on us."

"I don't like fawning females. And I'm just stating our genetic differences and the truth when I commented about your height. But now after knowing you longer, I admire you a lot."

"Flattery! "

They bantered on and off, nodded with fatigue from time to time and watched the action inside the chamber half-heartedly. It was a relief to every captive watching in the room that Fred Collins declared the first fusion complete.

"Raise the glass chamber! Take the women to medical check and the man to the recovery room."

Darcy and Elizabeth sat up, hoping that Lydia would pass their way. Unfortunately, she was taken to the opposite direction.

"Now, it's the turn for the Martian couple."

"It's our turn!" Darcy and Elizabeth looked at each other and mouthed the words.

"Don't touch me, I will go into the glass chamber myself," Darcy halted Fred 2 and 3 and stood up, with Elizabeth wrapping around him. He then raised his hand behind his ear and pressed the beaming device when no one noticed.

Collins saw their bodies disappearing before his eyes and yelled, "He has beaming device! Tighten the string!"

Fred 2 and 3 frantically pressed a few buttons in a console. The rubber like string glowed and the couple yelped in pain while their bodies reappeared.

"Damn! The string seems to have magnetic properties that can interrupt our beaming." Darcy whispered to Elizabeth.

"Don't do anything stupid, tall Martian! Walk inside the glass chamber now or we will press the remote again. Your lady friend may not able to withstand the pain the next time."

"Master, will they escape when we break the string inside the chamber?" Fred 2 asked.

"Good point. The beaming device must be inside one of his pockets. Platoon No.1, all of you go inside the chamber with them. I want you to restrain their hands. Then I'll break the string via the remote. You then search for the device."

Darcy walked unwillingly towards the glass chamber, whispering assuring words to Elizabeth, "At least, they don't know the device is behind my ear."

Once the glass partitions were lowered. Several pint-size Jupiter men held back both Darcy and Elizabeth's hands. Then the string was broken and fell on the ground. Darcy kicked one of the Jupiter men. Amid fierce struggle, he managed to wrap his hands around Elizabeth's body and whispered, "Hold on tight!" and pressed the back of his ear.

"Damn! The beaming device is behind his ear. Throw the string on them and stall their beaming." Collins yelped.

Darcy was 80 through the beaming when Collins yelled out the command. Although one of the Freds managed to throw the string on them, they didn't have enough time to press the button on the console to activate the string. Amid the yelling and screaming of the Jupiterians, Darcy and Elizabeth completed the beaming and reached Pemberley safely, taking the string with them.

"Welcome to Pemberley!" They were still wrapped around each. Both were breathless from the struggle with the three-eyed men. Elizabeth unwound her hands, moved away from Darcy and looked around the room. They were inside a big warmly decorated lounge room with sofa, coffee table, books and flowers. All the furniture in the room was huge.

"Wow! That was close."

"I know. At least we now know my beaming device worked inside the glass chamber."

"Bloody string! It hurt," Elizabeth said, throwing the rubber string off her shoulder onto the ground.

The action drew Darcy's attention to her body. Suddenly his blood ran riot inside his body.

"Elizabeth, you must relieve my sufferings! Your acupuncture works too well. I can't stop myself from wanting you."

"Wait! How about your assistant and crew? Shouldn't we meet them first?"

"Mrs. Reynolds is the artificial intelligence over there and Pemberley is run by her. There is no other crew member."

"Fitzwilliam, welcome back! Miss Bennet, nice to meet you. You two enjoy yourselves. I won't pry." An elderly voice was heard coming out from a console on the wall.

"Nice to meet you too Mrs. Reynolds. Shouldn't we get Lydia out first, Mr. Darcy?"

"You heard Collins say. He won't hurt them. Pemberley is not a war ship so we can't do much as the Jupiterians are armed. We will inform your dad and ask him to organize a rescue vessel. Mrs. Reynolds, please trail the Jupiter spaceship and notify Mr. Bennet in Meryton and Bingley in London of the situation."

"Yes, Fitzwilliam."

"Mrs. Reynolds, please let me talk to my dad when you reach him."

"Sure, Miss Bennet."

[IJust don't reach Mr. Bennet too quickly! I need some quality time with her. Try contacting Bingley first,[/IDarcy told Mrs. Reynolds through the mind-link.

He picked Elizabeth up and put her on the huge sofa. Electricity seemed to flow through their bodies when their flesh touched. When he was making love to her, she suddenly felt a vibration inside her body.

"What the hell?" Elizabeth asked breathlessly.

"That's my special talent, Miss Bennet. I can vibrate," Darcy grinned.

"Oh, that was wicked! Why were you cloned with this ability?" Elizabeth asked breathlessly when they were snuggling against each after the lovemaking.

"I have no clue at all. My parent and I were not close. And my cloning record didn't explain it either. But I have no complain, though it is the first time I have had the opportunity to use it." Darcy smiled and rolled over his big body, not wanting to crush her tiny form. He accidentally went over the edge of the sofa and felt onto the floor. Luckily there was a rug there and he was not hurt.

Elizabeth turned over her body on the sofa, looked at him on the floor and laughed out loud, "Clumsy Martian!"

"Hey, I said no name calling or you will be punished!"

She scrambled out of the sofa to escape. Darcy stood up and caught her easily from behind.

"No! No punishment!" She laughed and proceeded to please each for more hours.

"Miss Bennet, I should be able to get Mr. Bennet online soon, there was a traffic jam in the Earth's communication system due to Jupiter's attacks. Would you like to shower and get dressed now?" Mrs. Reynolds voice was heard from the wall.

"Oh yes."

"When Fitzwilliam told me he would be beaming you up with him, I had taken the liberty to prepare a few dresses because he didn't have any female clothes onboard."

"Mrs. Reynolds, you are so sweet! But how did you know my size?"

"Fitzwilliam was tied to you when he talked to me. So he transferred your body shape and size to me."

"Elizabeth, Mrs. Reynolds here likes to take a lot of liberties."

"Fitzwilliam, you better behave or I'll tell Miss Bennet all your escapades. Miss Bennet, this way please." A life-size image of an elderly woman appeared in the room and she led Elizabeth away to a guest room. They seemed to get on well as they chatted and walked out of the room.

Darcy went to his room and showered. When he took out a silver body suit, Mrs. Reynolds appeared and said, "Fitzwilliam, I made you a matching costume." She brought out a Regency white shirt, a dark green waistcoat and light brown breeches.

"Why would I want to wear ancient Earth clothes?"

"You're hopeless. Don't you want to court the lady? Your Martian body suit shows your six-pack well but it is bland and unattractive. I made her a lovely Regency dress. Don't you want to match her or would you rather look odd?"

"But won't we look odd with costumes in front of her father?"

"I just told him they were a Martian party dress and your clothes were damaged during the escape from the Jupiterians."

"You think he will believe it?"

"Men don't think much about fashion. It is more important what Elizabeth thinks."

"You call her Elizabeth now."

"Of course, I'm more sociable than you."

After some difficulties, Darcy managed to put on the Regency outfit.

Darcy walked back to the lounge room and saw Elizabeth standing there. Her long dark hair was piled on top of her head with some tiny yellow flowers decorating it. The waist of the dress was high and the yellow fabric was thin and soft. It hid her body shape more than a body suit but it showed her curves in a seductive way when she moved.

"Elizabeth, you look gorgeous!"

"I felt overdressed talking to my dad in this. But your lovely assistant Mae persuaded me. You look very handsome too."

"I'll show you just how handsome I am afterwards."

"Lizzy, are you OK?" Mr. Bennet came online.

"Dad, yes, we are not harmed."

"Wow, you look great in a dress but why did you dress like this?"

"Our clothes were damaged during our escape so Mae, that is Mrs. Reynolds, who is Mr. Darcy's assistant, made me this. She is a Jane Austen's fan."

"A computer Jane Austen's fan? Cool!"

"Mr. Bennet."

"Mr. Darcy, thank you for rescuing Lizzy."

"Don't mention it. Unfortunately, we couldn't take Lydia with us too."

"Mae told me about the beaming device. It's OK. Lizzy, I thought Lydia was out partying with some guys. You know she's never home. What did the Jupiterians want? I hope it's not ransom as I'm not a rich guy."

"It's weird. The Jupiter men paired the women up with men. They said they would release every one after all the captured women became pregnant. They want to harvest their embryos."

"What? Why would Jupiter men want babies from Earth? And who did they pair up Lydia with?"

"Lydia was tied up with George Wickham and Caroline Bingley."

"What? I thought I had banned all of you from seeing Wickham. How come Lydia was with him? Did you mean Caroline was forced to mate with Wickham too?"

"Yep."

"I couldn't imagine what the high and mighty Miss Bingley said when she was forced to mate with the dirt poor Wickham. Did they actually do the deed?"

"They used some kind of gas. Yes, they had done the deed."

"Did you mean… you were watching?"

"Every one had to watch or they stung you with needles."

"Oh my god! You were found with Mr. Darcy, so did you and him…" Mr. Bennet looked at them in turn. Darcy was uncomfortable under his gaze and Elizabeth blushed. The red spread from her face to her neckline.

"We were supposed to be the next couple but we escaped before they could gas us."

"So what have you done so far to get Lydia out, Dad?"

"I have talked to your Uncle Gardiner. He suddenly seemed to remember that he knew some people in the high positions. He has requested an armed space ship to chase the villains. But the ship has only just blasted off. You know how the red tape is on Earth. Luckily Mae has all the information about the captured people, like how many couples, how they look like, etc. I don't think they would agree to commission a space ship if it is just to rescue Lydia. But that means you have to stay with Mr. Darcy for the time being because we need the Pemberley to trail the Jupiter's ship. I think you are too far away to be beamed back to Earth now. Mr. Darcy, I'm afraid you have to put up with my impertinent daughter longer."

"Papa!"

"Mr. Bennet, I will take very good care of Miss Elizabeth. May I ask why you banned your daughters from seeing Wickham? He seems to be very friendly with them."

"Wickham will be friendly with a snake if he can scheme some money out of it. He came to Meryton from nowhere and ingratiated himself with many women here with flattery and charm. Even my more intelligent daughters like Jane and Lizzy were quite taken by him for awhile."

"Papa! I wasn't . I was just being neighbourly."

"If you said so, Lizzy. Anyway, I only knew that he was trying to scheme money out from a new heiress Mary King here recently. So I banned my girls seeing him. Apparently Lydia didn't listen to my instruction. So you know Wickham too? How is that possible? I thought Bingley said it was your first trip to Earth."

"Wickham is in fact a Martian mixed clone."

"What? He never told anyone about it."

"He is a fugitive in Mars for scheming money out from rich women. Of course he wouldn't broadcast it. Unfortunately, he schemed out a large trunk of my cousin Ann's money two years ago. Ann truly loved him. She was devastated. She got sick after he left and died a year ago. He seems to have a genetic disorder that makes him vulnerable to addictions like gambling and drinking. If he needs to make money from Earth women now, that means he has squandered away Ann's fortune which was enormous."

"Heartless man! Poor Lydia, I hope she doesn't get pregnant by him."

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

**Mars vs. Earth – Part 4 (Conclusion)**

Pemberley trailed the Jupiter's space ship for two days. The war ship from Earth would be reaching them tomorrow. Darcy and Elizabeth spent two days enjoying themselves. He took her on a tour around the Pemberley, which was huge. There was a large gym, swimming pool, ballroom, billiard room, entertainment room and many other facilities. It was like a mini-estate.

"Elizabeth, these two days are the happiest in my life. I don't want to live alone anymore like I did in the past. I want to live with you forever. Would you marry me?"

"Hey, clumsy Martian, didn't you read our records? You need a romantic setting to pop the big question, otherwise you won't get a yes from your girl."

"Aren't we in a romantic setting now? There is just the two of us. The bedroom is lit with candle light."

"And you are sweaty, breathless and lying next to me ready to snore! Where is the bending down on one knee with a ring?"

"You know I don't snore. But if you want bending down on one knee with a ring, give me a few minutes." Darcy scrambled out of the bed, picked her up and seated her in the lounge room. He then ran back to his room. A few minutes later, he came back dressed in another Regency outfit, bent down on one knee before her, took out a velvet box from his pocket, opened it and said, "Miss Bennet, although I have known you for a short time, I have come to lust for you and love you very much. This is my family ring. Please say yes and be my wife and live with me forever!"

"You only lust for me because I stirred up your libido gland by mistake."

"You're wrong. Don't you remember I kissed you after I helped you with the dressing in the survival area? I have never had those urges with any other females, Martian or Earth, until I met you. I always thought Earth's fusion was messy but with you, they were wonderful experiences."

"But isn't it too early to say you love me?"

"What is your definition of love?" Darcy put the velvet box on her lap and held her hands.

Elizabeth turned her head slightly, thought for a moment and said, "You want the other person to be happy. You want your partner to grow and become a better person. You will even sacrifice yourself for your loved one."

"I definitely want to make you happy. And we are both interested in environmental issues so I hope we can work on them together and grow old together. I'm not sure I can make you a better person though because to me, you are already a perfect woman. As for sacrifices, I would brave a thousand Jupiter bad guys for you. I don't know if you love me yet but I know you like and lust for me too. Wouldn't you consider these good enough reasons to say yes?"

"It's just too soon for me. Can I think about it? Plus, there is the problem of where we should live. I can't emigrate to Mars because of my height but would you be happy to live on Earth forever?"

"I will live where you are, my dear!"

"Flattery!"

Darcy grinned and asked, "So how long will you need to think about it? A day?"

"What? Of course not! Maybe a year."

"A month!"

"Six month, that is my final offer."

"But then can I still live with you during this six month period?"

"Fine."

"I wouldn't accept no."

The rescue of Lydia went smoothly. Darcy was the one who helped secured the war ship on Earth, though Elizabeth never knew about it. (He kept this a secret with her Uncle Gardener who would take the credit for rescuing Lydia) Darcy had been secretly talking to Mrs. Reynolds since he suspected he wouldn't be able to beam Lydia with him. His uncle Andrew helped to get the High Commander on Earth to send the most powerful ship.

No one was hurt as Collins surrendered without a fight. It was a shock though when Collins revealed that he was employed by Catherine de Bourgh, Ann's mother to harvest embryos. She wanted to amass her fortune again by selling babies to desperate couples in Mars. She was arrested in Mars for endangering international relations and potential trafficking of babies.

Wickham was extradited to Mars and sentenced to purification work camp to clean up his genetic deficiency. Two women were pregnant in this saga, Miss Bingley and another woman on Earth, but not Lydia. Miss Bingley planned to put up the baby for adoption afterwards. Lydia swore off men after her ordeal and to every one's surprise, spent her time studying instead.

Darcy rented a permanent docking spot in Meryton for his Pemberley. Elizabeth lived with him on his ship but they spent a lot of their weekends with the Bennets and socialized with the families in Meryton. Darcy was still uncomfortable with strangers but he was improving a lot with practice and Elizabeth's help.

Bingley's experiment didn't work with unmarried Earth women. He persuaded Jane to experiment with him when they docked in London. They made a baby through traditional fusion. Three weeks into her pregnancy, Bingley extracted the embryo from Jane's womb and cloned it. He planted them back into her but only the original one survived. Although the experiment failed, both Jane and Bingley were happy that their embryo lived because fusion between Earth female and mixed Martian clones normally had a low chance of producing an offspring. They got married the month before and moved to Mars. They came back to Earth for a short visit after they were married. .

Darcy and Elizabeth went to investigate and solve environmental problems around the galaxy as Darcy was invited due to his expertise. In the past he had never taken up these invitations because he wasn't very interested in other cultures. He now recognized he could make a world of difference in the universe. .

The next day would be the six-month deadline. Darcy was 99 sure he would get a yes from Elizabeth. He planned to take her down to the survival area. He got permission from the Earth authority, and also got some ideas from Jane how to decorate it into a romantic setting.

He was sitting on the sofa in the lounge room of the Pemberley. Elizabeth entered into the room after her walk on the observation deck. She didn't want him to accompany her this evening. That made him a bit worry. That was why he deducted 1 from his confidence level. But she looked happy after her walk. Her eyes sparkled and her face was flushed with a lovely pink shade. She sat down next to him.

Before they could speak a word to each other, Mrs. Reynolds said, "Your uncle Andrew is on the line, Fitzwilliam. Do you want me to talk to him now?"

Darcy and Elizabeth looked at each other. They only talked with the High Commander a few times, about Catherine de Bourgh, Wickham, Darcy's move to Earth and then taking up consultancy with other planets. So they both wondered what the High Commander wanted this time?

"Darcy and Elizabeth, how are you doing?"

"We are fine, High Commander," Elizabeth greeted him cheerfully.

"I told you to call me Uncle Andrew."

Darcy looked at Elizabeth but she wouldn't give him a clue, "Teasing woman!" he mouthed the word silently. They had talked about it before. She said she would greet his uncle as Uncle Andrew if she decided to marry him.

"Uncle Andrew, what is the latest news in Mars?" Darcy asked.

"Big news! I hope Bingley hasn't stolen the show and told you first."

Darcy looked at Elizabeth again and they both looked puzzled. .

"We have passed through an amendment to relax the commandments against emigration. As of tomorrow, any Earth woman or man married to a Martian, pure or mixed clone, has the right to emigrate to Mars, no matter what physical or intellectual attributes he or she has."

Darcy was stunned. He was prepared to live away from Mars when he married Elizabeth. But to live in the clean and spacious Mars environment with Elizabeth would be very good.

"Uncle Andrew, that is wonderful news! How did it come about so suddenly?" Elizabeth asked.

"Oh, it's not sudden at all. Both Bingley and I have been working our butts off these last six months to bring this about. But I would say, you two did the most to make this happen."

"What? We didn't even know you wanted to amend the commandments, how could we do anything to help bring it about?" Darcy recovered his senses and asked.

"I must confess I hid something from you about our investigation of Catherine. She had computer records of the Earth couplings transmitted from the Jupiter men."

"But we know. Collins said he would record the proceedings in his space ship."

"But you didn't know we found your record on Pemberley."

"What?" Darcy and Elizabeth cried out in unison. They blushed full red. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around Darcy's waist and hid her face on his shoulder.

"How did Collins manage to record us onboard the Pemberley?" Darcy asked.

"Do you remember that rubber string? That was a spy string with many hidden cameras on it."

"What?" "Oh, my god!" "How many people have seen the recording?"

"Your cousin Richard brought it to my attention. Apparently Catherine was outraged that you 'lowered' yourself to fuse with an Earth female so she hid this recording very securely and intended to confront or blackmail you with it."

"Damn! Richard the rake, of all people!"

"Well, I think you two will blush a lot when you are so unfortunate to cross his path next. He will gloat and tease you both mercilessly."

"But what does this all have to do with the amendment of the commandments?"

"Bingley told me he discussed a theory with you. He said he suspected that our mixed clones cannot produce many offspring with Earth females because we put too much emphasis on certain attributes of Earth females. And then we heard on the recording that Elizabeth aired your libido energy point and made you go crazy for hours. We now believe that we should allow pure clones to fuse with Earth females as well. Of course, the knowledge of a certain acupuncturist will be most needed in Mars if we are to encourage more fusions among the different species of clones to produce offspring. We put the evidence before many government committees. It took me almost five months to get the commandments changed. I didn't want to tell you beforehand and I asked Bingley not to either because I didn't know how long the process would be."

"You put 'our evidence' before all those committees?"

"I'm afraid that was unavoidable."

"Oh my god! How embarrassing! I don't think I want to emigrate to Mars afterall." Elizabeth said and buried her head deeper into Darcy's body.

The High Commander broke out in chuckles and said. "Elizabeth, I won't tease you anymore. To tell you the truth, the hidden cameras were not very powerful. They were not turned on during your fight with the Jupiter men. We believed Collins only turned it on after you have completed the beaming. And the string seemed to be left on the floor and you two must have been on the sofa most of the time because the only clear image we got was Darcy sitting on the floor for a few minutes. We saw a lot of legs from time to time. But the sound track was good enough to convince everyone."

"Uncle Andrew, you are as bad as Richard!" Darcy said.

"Of course, he was cloned from me. I won't keep you long. You two will have a lot to talk about. I just wanted to be the first to pass on this news." The monitor shut down.

"The sound track was good enough to convince everyone! Martian, what did we say out loud when we first came onboard Pemberley?"

"How can I remember? I was under the influence of acupuncture."

"Huh! You seem to be under that same influence for the past 6 months."

Darcy lowered his mouth, kissed her and said, "I don't need any medicine now."

Elizabeth kissed him back and said, "Neither do I!"

She then rested her head on his chest, smoothed her hands over him and said, "I love you."

Darcy bolted and sat straight up on the sofa, nearly sending Elizabeth onto the floor. He wrapped his arms around her waist to secure her and said, "You love me. Did you say that? So you are going to marry me? Will you move to Mars with me?"

"So many questions! And where is my romantic setting with you on bended knee?"

Darcy gave her a kiss on the mouth, "Teasing woman! Answer me at once or else there will be punishment."

"Didn't you notice I that I called the High Commander, Uncle Andrew just now? Yes, I love you. Yes, I will marry you. Yes, I will move to Mars with you. Yes, I will make a baby with you. Actually no, I have made a baby with you already."

"What? You are pregnant! You told me you were on pills."

"You don't like babies?"

"Of course not! But I love to have lots of babies with you. I just don't know if pure clones can make a baby the traditional way. There is no record of that in Martian history. Pure clones only clone for offspring."

"So our baby will be a first in Mars. We have to thank the Jupiter men though."

"For capturing us and tying us together?"

"Remember you went to Jupiter last month as consultant to help them with the gas problem. You boasted before you went that no gas could affect you, as you were quite unaffected during the attack in the survival area. But some mysterious gas caught up with you this time and you kept me in bed and had your wicked ways with me for a long time. So I had forgotten all about taking my birth control pills."

"Hey, if that is true then we should bottle this gas and sell it in Mars," Darcy grinned, "But I still think I was not affected by any gas. I was just eager for you."

Darcy and Elizabeth got married two months later and moved to Mars. They had three sets of twins during their many years of marriage. They still traveled from time to time to consult on environmental problems around the galaxy. Contrary to some Martians' concerns, the three boys and girls didn't show any genetic deficiencies despite being the first offspring of a pure Martian and a short Earth female. They were all tall, handsome and intelligent. However, the boys did have one mysterious deficiency in that they didn't have that special vibrating cloning talent that their father had..

**The End**


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